Eternal Truths
by starbuckjade
Summary: It's the undeniable truths and little insanities that define us all too well. Sequel to Ringside Confessions.
1. So Far Beyond Fraked Up

When Lee finally made it back to his quarters Dee was waiting for him, just as he expected. She cleaned the blood off his face and bandaged the gash in his forehead all the while complaining about Starbuck and telling him that he would be much better off without her in his life.

He tried to believe her, he really did. But he was like a moth to a flame. It didn't matter how many times he was burned by Kara's love or how many times she broke his heart. He couldn't seem to make himself stop loving her. He craved her in his heart and in his soul in a way he couldn't completely understand. Lee knew one thing for certain; he was tired of living his life without her.

He looked up at Dee and realized he had completely zoned out on what she was saying. "Sorry." He mumbled, "What were you saying?"

Dee gave him a predatory smile, pushing him to lie back on the bunk, "I said I'm going to make you forget all about Starbuck."

Her hands immediately went towards his tanks, tugging them off even when he made no move to help her. When her hands went to his fly he pushed them away.

She stared at him, "Come on Lee. We haven't made love in weeks." Her hands moved back to his pants. And he resolutely swatted them away.

Shaking his head, he told her, "I'm not in the mood. Not tonight."

He thought that was the end of it, but she continued to pester him throughout the night, until finally he snapped and told her, "Starbuck hits below the belt and I'm just not ready for that."

He had meant it as a general comment about Kara's behaviour, how it knocked him off balance and did not put him in the mood to have sex with his impatient wife. Dee took his comment literally though, giving her more fodder for her snide remarks about Kara, not that she needed any more ammunition at that point. She apologized to him, saying that she would wait until he was feeling up to it.

Lee didn't quite know how he could explain to his wife that he had no interest in their sex life. How do you tell the woman you married that you fantasize about someone else while you're inside her?

Lee knew the answer to that question, you didn't tell her.

He stared down at her, lying next to him. He suddenly felt claustrophobic in their rack and in their tiny private quarters, he needed out. He quickly got dressed in his tanks and cargo pants, leaving Dee unaware and slumbering behind him.

Lee headed to the gym, at 2am and after a dance it was likely to be empty. Emptiness was what he needed most at the moment; he was too overcome with emotions and turmoil to think straight.

He opened the hatch, happy to see that he had been correct; the gym was empty…except for the lone figure doing pull-ups in the corner.

Kara's smirk was firmly in place as she switched from pull-ups to simply swinging on the bar. She landed on her feet in front of him, "Fancy meeting you here, Apollo."

He gave her a small smile as they sat down on the bench together. "Long time no see Starbuck." He replied, eyes falling to her nose, which was looking a little swollen with a nasty cut on it. Obviously she had washed the blood off, but she hadn't bothered to put a band-aid on it or gotten stitches, both of which it looked like she needed.

Moving over to the first aid kit on the opposite wall, he left her sitting on the bench. He routed through the kit for a moment before he found a bandage the proper size. He sat back down on the bench and faced her curious eyes. He said nothing as he placed the band-aid over the cut on her nose and placed a quick kiss on top of it.

Both of them pulled away from each other, leaning back against the wall they stared at the fitness equipment for a few lengthy moments before Kara finally broke in with, "Did you just kiss my boo boo better, Lee?"

He turned to look at her, mirth shining in his eyes, "I guess I did." They chuckled.

A few moments passed, "I came to the gym to be alone." He told her.

She closed her eyes, laying her head against the wall as she responded, "So did I."

Her presence should have irritated him but some how it didn't. It didn't even bother him when her head landed up on his shoulder or when her fingers threaded through his own.

"Anders wants me back. He wants me to give our marriage another chance." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"Dee wants children." He supplied.

"I fraked Sam before I made it to the fight, I was too afraid that once I got into the ring with you that I would frak you instead of fight you." She confessed.

"I told my wife that you hit below the belt as an excuse not to sleep with her." He responded.

She chuckled and he joined her, "We are so fraked up I'm not even sure that's an accurate description anymore."

He nodded, slowly standing up. "We should get to bed." He noticed the twinkle in her eye as he said that, he quickly back peddled. "What I meant was—"

Kara grabbed her towel from the treadmill, "I know what you meant Lee. You have the hots for me. I get it." She grinned at him.

Lee rolled his eyes, "That's what I love about you Kara, you're so humble."

She held the door for him, "Don't forget about my patience, my modesty and my knack of always following orders."

"Of course not. I wouldn't want to forget any of those winning qualities." He replied, grinning at her antics as he walked her to the senior pilots bunk room.

She smiled at him, "I missed this."

He grinned, "Me too. You make my life a lot more interesting, Kara."

She smirked, standing outside the bunk room, "Everyone has a skill."

Lee opened the hatch for her, but grabbed her arm when she tried to enter. She turned and looked at him curiously, "What do you love about me Kara?" he asked her, knowing full well he was playing with fire.

She gave him a sweet smile, "I love the way you look at me Lee. You see everything but you still make me believe that I deserve some happiness in this world, even after all I've done."

He kissed her then, softly and sweetly because it was exactly what he needed in that moment.

She gave him a shy smile as she closed the hatch, "Goodnight Lee."


	2. Kat's Legacy

**This chapter is a little on the short side, it couldn't be helped. But never fear, the next one will be longer. **

* * *

After a week of starvation and trial by fire through some of the worst nebula radiation the galaxy had to offer, Galactica's crew was slowing getting back to normal. Or as normal as life could get at the end of the world. Lee knew that most of the pilots were still reeling from Kat's death. It wasn't something anyone had expected. Everyone knew that viper pilots didn't die quietly in a hospital beds, they went out in a bright flash of flaming glory as they were shot down.

But Lee wasn't concerned with the other pilots, he was worried about Kara. He stood at the end of the memorial corridor watching her.

He knew whose picture she was pinning up without even getting a closer look. Louanne Katraine also known as Sasha Alexander, drug smuggler. Kara had confessed what she found out about Kat in the CAG office a few days ago over a jug of the chief's finest brew.

Lee silently walked up behind her, wrapping her in his arms. Her posture was stiff and her muscles tense, both relaxing as he felt her body melt into his.

"She'll be missed." He murmured.

Tensing back up, she replied, "I gave her pills you know." He nodded, he knew she would. The worse kind of death for people like Kara and Kat was a slow one, with ample time to re-live every mistake they had ever made in their lives.

She sighed, "If I had kept my fraking mouth shut she'd still be alive."

"You don't know that. It wasn't your fault that she couldn't confront the past she'd been running from for years. You know better than anyone Kara, what it's like carrying your past mistakes with you. Sasha chose to be a martyr."

"How many lives do I have to frak up before mine ends, Lee? Zak's, yours, the old man's, my mother's, Kat's…the list goes on. I deserved to die in that radioactive sludge."

Lee didn't like the tone her voice had adopted; it had gone past melancholy and regret. "You didn't frak up my life, Kara."

She turned in his arms and stared at him with an incredulous look on her face.

He relented, "Okay maybe a little."

She smirked at that, as he pulled her back into his arms.

"You can at least be proud of the kind of pilot Kat became. She went from nugget to lead pilot to CAG, something she never would have accomplished without you Kara."

She said nothing and Lee tried a different tacit. "You know why you didn't die in that nebula Kara? You're a damn good pilot, that's why. You kept your birds' close and made sure they got to the other side okay. And because I wouldn't leave you in there. I've lost you before Kara, but I can't ever do it again. I just can't. Maybe you think your life is penance, maybe you have happiness coming to you or that the gods have a plan for you. I don't know. But you do not deserve to die, and if you get yourself killed there is nothing between heaven and earth that will stop me from bringing you back. You can't quit on me, not after all that's happened and all that we've been through together."

She turned in his arms, cupping his cheek she gave him a soft kiss. "Run with me tomorrow."

Lee smiled, the light in her eyes was back, he'd gotten through to her. Then he pouted, "But I get to sleep in tomorrow. Dee works 3am to 11am in CIC and I don't have CAP until noon. I have the whole place to myself." Private quarters for married couples were a rarity, especially on Galactica but it was even rarer to find time to just sit and relax alone, in peace and quiet.

She shook her head, pulling away from him. "Enjoy your rest, Apollo." Their easy rapport was gone and replaced with the steel edge in her voice. She turned and walked down the corridor and out of sight.

Lee sighed, "…Frak."

* * *

**Gold star if you can tell me who Sasha Alexander is and what show I stopped watchi****ng because of her abrupt departure. **


	3. A Scenic Tour Of Galactica

**Gold stars for blondevor, PiperSun302, angelstryst and h2olgd for knowing that Sasha Alexander played Kate Todd on NCIS until her character had an unfortunate run in with a bullet. Two gold stars for Moggie, who knew the answer, although she has never seen the show, only because she remembered me complaining about it two years ago. **

**Thank you so much to everyone else who has reviewed, I really appreciate your feedback. **

* * *

The next day Lee was awakened by Kara plopping down on top of him. His eyes snapped open and he stared at her smiling face above him. He folded his arms behind his head and looked at her with a bemused expression on his face, "What can I do for you, Kara?"

"You're coming running with me." He groaned. She continued, "There is nothing to complain about Lee, I let you sleep in and everything."

He turned slightly to look at the alarm on the shelf of his bunk. He sighed, she was right, she had let him sleep in…a whole 5 minutes later than when he normally woke up. Lee turned back to her, "What if I don't want to go for a run? What if I just want to lie in my bed for the rest of the morning?"

Kara shifted position until she was lying down beside him, curled up against his side with her head on his shoulder, "I'll wait." She replied.

Lee wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer as he buried his nose in her hair. Gods she always smelt so good. He knew in his heart that this was how they were supposed to wake up together on New Caprica.

He held her for a long time, clutching at the feelings of peace and happiness that surrounded them. Until finally he spoke, "We can't stay like this forever."

She nodded, not bothering to move from her position. "You just let me know when you're ready to start that run, Apollo."

He huffed, rolling them over so he was lying on top of her. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

She grinned at him, "You wouldn't have me any other way." It was true, he wouldn't.

Lee had to fight the overwhelming urge to kiss her back down into the bunk and make love to her. All her soft curves were pressed against him, her pupils slightly dilated…she was ripe for the taking…if only he gave in.

He couldn't. Instead he moved off the bed and started to get changed into his running clothes. He noticed that Kara was still snuggled in his bunk, staring at the wall across from her instead of him getting changed. Lee wondered if she was trying to respect the boundaries that he was trying desperately to keep in place…until he realized she was watching every move he made through the mirror, probably getting an eyeful too.

He watched Kara out of the corner of his eye, licking her lips as she watched him slip his shorts on. He reached into his locker to grab his running shoes, "Try not to drool on my pillow, Starbuck."

She snorted, sliding off his bunk, "Get over yourself, Apollo."

He chuckled, same old Starbuck. He opened the hatch and motioned for her to go through it. "So where are you taking me on our run this morning?"

She smirked, "A scenic tour of Galactica of course."

They started jogging down the corridor, "Past the bunk room, pilot rec room, CAG office and the cafeteria, loop around CIC and turn home?" Kara nodded; it was their standard route that they had developed years ago.

They jogged for a few minutes in companionable silence, sneaking glances at each other every now and then, both with smiles on their faces. "So how long have you been planning that little wake up call?" Lee asked.

Kara smirked, "Pretty much from the moment I walked away from you yesterday."

Lee sputtered, coughing as he tried to breathe properly again, "You're kidding."

She chuckled, "I told you I wasn't taking no for an answer Lee. I've got my wingman back and now my running partner."

He couldn't help smiling at her, "I think you can add best friend to that list too." Her grin couldn't be wider. "You've got everything you wanted Kara, now what?"

She shook her head, "I don't have everything...yet. But you'll be happy to know that my plan to seduce you is already underway."

Lee stared at her in shock, not paying attention to where he was going; he didn't see the hatch flying open right in front of him.

Walking out of the hatch was Petty Officer Doran looking petrified when he realized who he had hit. "Major Adama sir…I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking it was all my fault…I'll take you to the life station or do you want ice? I can get you ice…or a cool cloth? Would that help sir?" he blubbered on, trying in vein to make up for hitting the Major. He stared down at him, sitting on the ground with a hand over his eye. If Major Adama didn't kick his ass Starbuck certainly would.

Kara was biting her lip hard, trying her best not to burst out laughing. She snapped her fingers at the Petty Officer to get his attention; she looked at his name tag. "Petty Officer Doran!"

He gulped, "Yes sir."

"Get lost. The only thing hurt is Major Adama's pride. I can handle it from here."

He nodded briefly, before making a mad dash down the corridor, back the way he came.

Kara crouched down in front of Lee, unable to keep the smile off her face. "You're going to have one hell of a shiner, Apollo." She laughed at him, "Do you want me to kiss it better?"

Lee glared at her, "You're going to kiss my eye?"

She smiled mysteriously, leaning in close "You kissed my nose…besides it'll make you feel better." Her voice had adopted a sing-song quality and he knew he would never get away with saying no.

"Fine."

Kara grinned; she kissed his eye lid, gently tracing her lips along the outside of the bruise that was already starting to form. Lee closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy her ministrations. He noticed the care she was taking, how gentle she was being and the hand that kept creeping up his thigh. That hand was currently caressing and squeezing its way up.

He laced their fingers together and stood up. "I feel better now, thanks Kara."

She nodded, staring off to continue their run. "I'd say you're even happy to see me."

"Shut up, Starbuck."


End file.
